


If You Hurt Him

by posingasme



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Big Brother Dean, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-14
Updated: 2015-05-14
Packaged: 2018-03-30 13:01:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3937774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/posingasme/pseuds/posingasme
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean knows Sam is up to something, and he suspects Castiel might know what.</p><p>In response to anon Tumblr prompt wanting to see Dean discovering that Sastiel is a thing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	If You Hurt Him

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Not__Misha__Collins](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Not__Misha__Collins/gifts).



It wasn't as though they were trying to hide anything. The two of them simply wanted to figure things out on their own first. They did not discuss keeping things secret. Each of them assumed, in fact, that the other had brought it up. But as time went on, it became obvious that neither had.

Things were getting awkward.

“There a woman you haven’t mentioned?” Dean asked as Sam wandered into the room looking exhausted.

“A woman?” Sam blinked at him. Then he shifted uncomfortably. He was in the same clothes as yesterday. He had wondered if Dean might notice that.

“Well, I’m just saying. You weren’t here when I went to bed last night. You’ve been running off on your own a lot these past couple of weeks.”

Sam swallowed. He shoved his hands in his jacket pockets and shrugged. “I do that.”

“You actually don’t.”

He huffed. “Dean, we don’t always do the exact same thing at the exact same-"

“Who is she?”

The younger man clenched his teeth together. “I’m going to get some coffee. And you’re going to stop treating me like I’m thirteen.”

Dean’s eyes narrowed, but he said nothing more.

Sam wandered into the kitchen to prepare the coffee machine. He stared at it as it dripped. What was he doing? Didn’t Dean deserve to know that his brother and his best friend were…whatever he and Castiel were now? Or was it none of his business?

“It’s none of his business, and you would still feel better if he knew,” he muttered to himself.

But whatever this was had been going on for over a month. How was he supposed to tell Dean now? And how was he going to react? Sam knew his brother better than the man knew himself. But he just couldn't say.

***

Dean stared at Sam’s phone. It seemed like every time it buzzed lately, _Castiel calling_ popped up on the screen. With Sam acting so odd the last few weeks, and with Castiel contacting him so often…Maybe Castiel knew what was going on. He sighed and grabbed the phone. “Hey.”

“Sam?”

“No. It’s Dean. What’s up?”

Castiel took a breath. “Nothing. Just…staying in touch. Like I do.”

Dean resisted the urge to repeat himself by pointing out that he actually didn’t. “Something on your mind?”

“No.” There was a pause. Then: “This call is pointless.”

He waited.

“My ride is here-"

“Dammit, Cas, stop. Look, I want to talk to you. Fly your ass here, will you? I mean, can you?” Dean felt ridiculous talking to the angel on the phone.

“Is something wrong?” Castiel murmured in a tone that could only be described as guilty.

Dean turned to face him, and hung up Sam’s phone. “I hoped you could tell me.”

“Ah. Good. Then no. The answer is no. Nothing is wrong.”

His eyes rolled dramatically. “Cas, I didn’t say…Look, something’s wrong with Sam. At least…something’s up with him. Do you know anything about it?”

Blue eyes flicked about in all directions. “Is he here? Is Sam here?”

“He’s in his room. Cas, if there’s something going on with my brother and you’re not telling me, I will break your face in a way even you can’t heal.”

The angel’s head tilted, and the eyes narrowed. “Dean, if Sam has something he wishes to tell you, shouldn’t I let him do so?”

Anger flashed in the man’s eyes. “You listen to me, you jackass with wings. You might have your grace back, but you better believe I can make you wish you weren’t immortal again.” Dean took a breath. Threats were hardly going to work on Castiel. A change of tactic was in order. Dean knew exactly how to play at the angel’s strings. “We’ve been through too much together, Cas. If there’s something wrong with my brother and you know anything about it, you owe it to me to tell me. I can’t believe there’s anything that could come between you and me. We’re family, man.”

The family line always worked on Dean, and it always worked on Castiel.

There was a beat of silence, during which Dean thought he might actually have to hit or hug the angel until he talked. Then Castiel sighed painfully. “I wanted to tell you, Dean.”

Finally. “What’s wrong with my brother, Cas?”

The blue eyes closed tightly. “Nothing is wrong, per se.”

“Cas,” Dean warned through his teeth.

“I had thought he would tell you. Then when I realized he hadn’t, I thought I shouldn’t. Perhaps he didn’t want you to know.”

“Know what?” Dean growled in frustration. He wanted to put his fist through something, and if Castiel didn’t start making sense, it was probably going to be him.

“That he and I have strengthened our relationship.”

It was Dean’s turn to cock his head. “Excuse me?”

“Hm?”

Dean found himself speaking very slowly, as if Castiel would better understand him. “Cas, what the actual hell are you talking about? You think you’re saying words, but you’re really not. Do I need to go get Sam and beat it out of him, or are you going to explain this?”

“Sam and I have altered our friendship to include new activities.”

He knew angels could blush. He had seen Castiel do it several times. And he was doing it now. And somehow this made him very, very uncomfortable. “Such as?” he snarled.

Now Castiel was staring up at the ceiling, wincing. “Various…new…activities.”

Dean stared.

“Sex being one of them. Or…many of them. Quite a few of them, actually.”

A whimper came from behind them, and Dean’s gaze slid from Castiel’s red face to Sam’s shocked expression in the hall. Then it turned back.

Dean’s hand went to his hip, and the other pushed out in front of him, as though he were struggling to keep himself under control. “I’m sorry. Your poor grasp of sentence structure is confusing me. It sounded like you just said you’re having sex with my brother.”

“Not currently. Not presently. But yes. Generally. Sometimes.”

“God, Dean,” Sam moaned. His hand was tight over his eyes.

“You’re screwing my brother?” he shrieked, as though Sam were not there.

Castiel cleared his throat gruffly. “I find that to be a very crude description of-"

“You’re screwing my goddamn brother?!”

Sam stepped up now. “Dean! Knock it off! We’re both adults-"

“You are _not_ both adults!” he screamed at Sam. He stabbed a finger at Castiel. “That is not an adult! That’s a damn angel! And for the love of God, Sam, it’s Cas!”

A deep frown came over Castiel’s face then. “Dean, is this…somehow worse because it’s me?”

He whirled on his friend. “Of course it’s worse because it’s you! It’s a thousand times worse because it’s you! You son of a bitch, you’re my goddamn best friend! He’s my kid brother! How could you do this?”

The younger man glowered at him. “Dean-"

“I’ll get to you in a minute!” he shouted over his shoulder.

The glare remained, but Sam quieted.

He took a step toward Castiel. If he weren’t so livid, he might have taken some satisfaction from the angel backing away, only to find himself up with nowhere to go. Dean shoved him into the wall, then braced his chest with his forearm while he spoke. He knew Castiel could get out of the hold if he wanted to. But he also knew the angel well enough to know he would listen first. “How could you do this? Of all people, you know how many times he’s gotten his heart ripped out of his chest!”

Castiel looked startled. “What?”

“My kid brother gets his heart broken like nobody on the planet. You’re a damn angel. You couldn’t have picked somebody whose heart still had a chance at bouncing back?”

“Dean!” Sam breathed.

But he ignored him. “Monsters and humans, they’ve all taken their piece of him, and now you’re taking what’s left? You think he’s going to recover from that? Years he’s been fighting with you! Hunting with you. God, you shared the damn fires of Hell burning inside your heads!” He realized his eyes were stinging with unshed tears, and he bit through the sensation. “You’ve been through wars and the end of the damn world together. You can’t see that you’re in a position to hurt him worse than any of those others? That he’s in deeper with you than he’s ever been with anybody in his life?”

Castiel’s eyes lowered. “Dean, I love your brother.”

“Well, good for you! You’re a damn angel, you jackass! What’s going to happen when you fly away this time? Whether it’s another war or a dog race in Perth, you’re never here! And when you fly off to do who knows what in Heaven, and you don’t come back, where does that leave my brother?”

“Dean, stop. Just stop. I can take care of myself.”

“The hell you can!”

The angel took hold of Dean’s arm and pushed him back gently. “Dean, I’ve got no intention of leaving your brother. I would never want to hurt him.”

“Yeah, well, what you plan and what happens ain’t ever exactly similar, are they? Yes, Sam, it’s a freaking line from Firefly, because it applies! Shut up!” He turned to his brother then. “And you!”

“Me?” Sam demanded.

“Yeah! You! You should know better! He’s something between Jane Bennet and Lennie Small! With your track record, you really think you can look me in the face and tell me you’re not going to leave the guy reeling?” Dean was quaking head to foot, but it felt like he had been punched in the gut as it occurred to him suddenly that it wasn’t truly anger pouring from him. It was fear. “You think angels have nine lives? He ain’t a cat, Sam! Dammit, you two are…” He took a few steps back from them both, and ran a shaking hand down his face. “You two are going to be the death of me,” he said finally. He stumbled another step back and tripped into his seat.

 The others were silent. But when he looked up, he could see that they were both smiling down at him.

“What?” he demanded irritably.

Sam’s lips quirked in amusement. “So…you don’t care that he’s a guy.”

“Technically, Sam, I’m agender-"

“Of course I don’t care he’s a…Sam, you banged a werewolf, a demon and a veterinarian! What do I care if this one’s got boy parts?”

The younger man snorted softly. “Right. So you don’t care he’s a guy. You just think he’s going to break my heart.”

Dean felt like perhaps his brother had lost his mind. “What the hell are you thinking? _Everybody_ breaks your heart!” He could feel himself winding up again, and he pushed to his feet. “And you!” he wailed at Castiel. “You trust every creature that comes near you! Huh? Naomi? The damn reaper! Metatron. Freaking Crowley?”

The distaste in Castiel’s eyes was apparent. “I never trusted Crowley. Nor Naomi for that matter.”

“How many times has trusting someone gotten you hurt? Answer me that! You can’t tell me you’re a good judge of character! No offense, Sammy, but you don’t have the best record with ex-lovers! What am I going to do if Cas…” He huffed through his teeth. “And you!”

Sam cut him off before he could lay into Castiel again. “Dean. It’s all right.”

“No it isn’t!” Dean fell back into his chair. “What the hell am I going to do if you break each other? I can’t…I can’t fix that. I can’t protect you from that!” He looked from one pair of eyes to the other, pleading with his gaze, asking them to please, please not go somewhere he couldn’t keep them safe.

Sam crouched next to his chair. “You don’t have to protect me from Cas. Or myself. Dean, this is what I want. Cas feels right. I don’t know when it happened. I don’t know where we go from here. But I’ve come a long way since getting led around by Ruby. And I’m not going to let anything happen to him either. I promise.”

“Dean, I do trust your brother. And you know I can trust him. You know your brother would never do anything to manipulate me as others have done. I’ve learned from you how to be good to someone, and I will be good to your brother.”

Dean shook his head at them. He could not believe these two. They were the most important people in his life, the people he loved more fiercely than any other. He knew he was overreacting. He knew, but he couldn’t help it. He had risked too much over the years, had lost too much. From Jo to Kevin and everyone in between and since, he was done with people he loved getting broken. He just couldn’t take it anymore.

He swallowed with difficulty, and looked from one to the other, then put his head in his hand, elbow resting on the table. He spoke in defeat. “I swear to God, if you hurt him…”

“Is he speaking to me?” he heard Castiel whisper to his brother.

Sam was smiling. He could tell by his voice. “Yeah. And me too.”

“Will he be all right?”

“As long as we are.”

Dean’s eyes closed, and he shook his head, heaving a sigh.

**Author's Note:**

> Feed the author with comments! :)


End file.
